


Preview for fics to vote on

by Diaryofanarcissisticgayman



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Excerpts to preview and vote on, M/M, Multi, This is 2 different stories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 01:31:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12545828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diaryofanarcissisticgayman/pseuds/Diaryofanarcissisticgayman
Summary: I'll be posting chunks of both the stories I'm considering publishing in this, and then people can go voteherefor which one they want me to publish, if either of them.





	1. We Burn So Bright (We Burn Out)

Niall leaves the house before anyone wakes up, a wool jumper pulled over his shoulders on his way out the door before the light has even begun to peek over the hills to the west. He left a note for the lads, and one for Molly as well, letting them know he’s decided to open the bakery and give them a morning off. Luke hasn’t got any lessons, and Ashton doesn’t open the store until noon on Saturdays, so Niall can do the heavy lifting and give them all a break. 

Plus, it gives him a way to avoid any more fighting for a bit, because it feels like that’s all that’s happened lately.

But, before he can open the bakery, he’s got to drop his spare key to the gym off at the witch’s cabin. Luckily, it’s half-five in the morning. Nobody else in the village is awake at this time, except the farmers on the outskirts. Tourists come to this place specifically to relax. There are no attractions nearby, no theme-parks or circuses or boardwalks.

This place only even still exists because a few hundred people were too stubborn and loyal to move. That, and because Calum saw the beauty in it, and put years into revitalizing it from the ground up, and finding a way to market Saint Martine as a peaceful oceanside getaway from busier lives.

Life moves slowly here, and that’s what visitors want, so they sleep in. You’ll get the occasional oddball that prefers the sunrise to the sunset, but they generally aren’t the kind who stumble into the pub at eleven at night and stay for hours, so Niall isn’t worried.

It’s brisk out, makes Niall wish he’d borrowed a jacket from one of the lads instead of just bundling up in a jumper and jeans. His boots aren’t insulated, and his socks aren’t wool and he hasn’t bought new clothes for himself in too long for anything he’s got to actually be very warm. Every spare bit of money he makes goes into keeping Molly in new clothes and shoes and books and toys and anything else he can use to distract her from the fact that this isn’t the fucking life she deserves, and that thought is what keeps him warm on days like this one.

It doesn’t take long to make his way out of the village and up to the coast, to the last few cottages that haven’t been winterized. It’s Niall’s own fault, really, now that he thinks about it. He’s been too busy stressing out about Molly’s birthday to get around to finishing the cottages. But, in his defense, he didn’t think anyone would be coming this late in the year, and it’s an incredibly stressful time.

Today is the last day of this life for him, the one where he’s left being a fugitive behind. Tomorrow comes with a cake and presents and celebrations for Molly, and a yoke around Niall’s shoulders that’ll turn him into Atlas. Tomorrow, at midnight, he’ll be a rebel against the empire again, for however long it takes to find a tutor for Molly that’s willing to bend the rules, if not break them.

Lying on her registration once he finds a tutor, and saying her latent abilities didn’t manifest before six will be easy enough, but he has to keep those abilities hidden until then. He has to impress upon her the importance of what could happen if she ever uses her powers outside of their house, or the lads’ house. Tomorrow gets to be a good day for her, but, afterwards, she’s going to have to be very careful, and it’s a weight that Niall wishes he could lift off of her shoulders and add to his own.

But today- Today, Niall’s shoulders are still at their normal weight. Today, he gets to pretend that everything is okay, minus a small detour near the witch. And, per usual with this particular witch, things don’t go to plan.

Niall heads around the back, old habits creeping in to make him move silently by instinct. The backs of all the cottages have their own little fenced in terraces- Calum’s idea- to give tourists a private area to enjoy the outdoors. They’ve each got some furniture and a grill and a fire pit, but generally go unused. There’s always a set of French doors leading out to the terraces, and a mat in front of those doors, which is where Niall slips the key to the gym.

If he hadn’t had so much training in stealth, he’d have flinched when the witch’s gravelly voice sparks up from under what Niall thought was just a pile of blankets on one of the chairs, saying, “I thought for sure it’d be one of the tall, Oceanic ones. Didn’t think you’d drop it off yourself.”

“I don’t make them clean up my messes.” Niall says flatly, standing back up and turning around. The witch is still invisible to him, even though Niall can pinpoint where he is now, based on his voice. “How did you know it was me? Is your power invisibility, or telepathy?”

“I heard your footsteps.” the witch says through a yawn, stretching and shifting the blanket off of his head, arms and shoulders to reveal his messy hair and bare chest while he rubs at his eyes. “They’re taller, and they probably weigh more than you, because they’re bulkier. They make a heavier sound when they take a step, and their strides are longer. You, on the other hand, barely make more noise than a mouse. If it weren’t so quiet out here, I wouldn’t have heard you at all until you set the key down.”

“You would have slept through it entirely if you’d been inside.” Niall points out, crossing his arms over his chest. “I maintain these cottages, so I happen to know for a fact that there’s a perfectly comfortable bed in there.”

“Got a twinge in my back after our last encounter.” the bloke says with a shrug and a blush visible even in the low light from the sun beginning to peak over the hills. “I talked to the Asian one-”

“Maori.” Niall corrects. “His name is Calum, and he’s Maori. They’re Polynesian, and they don’t generally consider themselves to be Asian, or at least he doesn’t.”

“Calum. Sorry.” the witch says, nodding. “Calum said he’s all out of any pain tonics, so he’ll have to drop it off today. Only way I’ve been able to sleep comfortably is in this chair, and I didn’t want to miss it when he dropped it off, because I thought he’d be the one to come.”

“Decided to give him the morning off, but I also didn’t see anything on the table when I left.” Niall says with a shrug, knowing full well that Calum has multiple pain tonics in every one of his emergency bags that he restocks regularly, the jealous little shit. Niall has never loved him more. “Speaking of which, I have to open up the bakery, so I have to get going. I’m sure Cal will be by later with something for your back. And you should cover up so he doesn’t have to come out here with anything for a cold afterwards.”

“I’ll keep my ears open.” the witch says quietly, a small sigh edging on the back of the words as he pulls the blanket back up to cover everything from his nose down.

Despite the fact that he doesn’t look back to confirm it, he can feel the witch’s eyes on him as he walks away, and the shiver that runs down his spine this time, he attributes to the cold, autumn wind that kicks up.

 

“How do you make a tool-belt look sexy?” Calum asks with a hum, somewhere behind Niall.

“Because you’re staring at my arse, not my belt.” Niall says over his shoulder. “You know- I think you keep this old junker of an oven just so I keep having to fix it, and you have an excuse to ogle me.”

“Ovens are expensive.” Calum chuckles. “You’re much cheaper, and the view isn’t bad.”

“You know, I can only rig this thing so many times before it just explodes and kills all of us.” Niall says with a roll of his eyes, brushing off his knees as he stands up. “So give Luke a tool belt, and let him be the fix for your odd jobs man fetish. Get a new oven, or I’m not working in this place anymore, or letting Molls come in here.”

“Strip down to nothing but the tool belt, and we’ll talk.” Calum says with a smirk, leaning back on his hands where he’s perched on the counter.

“Don’t make me go over your head to Ash.” Niall says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Fine.” Calum drawls out. “I’ll buy a new oven. Give me a few weeks to find one and have it delivered.”

“Three at most.” Niall says firmly. “And that would be less, but you’ve managed to put me in a good mood today.”

“And how did I do that?” Calum asks with a sly tone, waggling his eyebrows.

“You decided to be petty with the witch.” Niall laughs. “And I approve.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Calum says innocently, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m talking about this.” Niall snorts, reaching under the counter and pulling out one of Calum’s bags. He sets it on the counter and pulls out three vials of pain tonic. “You’ve never, in the five years I’ve known you, not been stocked on anything you could need in case someone comes through those doors, asking for your help.”

“These-” Calum hums, tapping each vial. “Need to be restocked every Friday. I’ve been a bit busy this week, and I hadn’t gotten around to it.”

“You’re forgetting one thing.” Niall says, leaning in closer to Calum. Cal makes a curious grunting noise, and Niall adds, “I happen to know that you restock your bags on Sundays, not Fridays.”

“Alright, fine!” Calum groans, throwing his hands over his head. “I was being petty. Happy?”

“Incredibly.” Niall hums. “The next month of this is going to be so much easier if at least one of you is on my side in hating him.”

“Hate is a strong word.” Calum mutters. “I just don’t feel any rush to put him out of his misery.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Niall grins. “He slept on the terrace, you know. Says the chair is the only place he could sleep comfortably. And he was shirtless, so he’s probably going to catch cold and be really miserable.”

Calum’s eyes narrow, but he’s interrupted from saying anything else by the bell over the door, and a similarly tinkling laugh and familiar footsteps running across the tiled floor.

“Da! Da! Guess what?” Molly giggles as she collides with his leg, wrapping her arms around it. “I got a birthday present early!”

“Molly- Little bird- Maybe you should-” Ashton tries, but Luke just grabs his shoulder and shakes his head.

That’s- Odd.

“What did you get, lovebug?” Niall asks, looking back down at her.

“A kiss!” Molly squeals. “My first kiss!”

Niall took several blows to the face and stomach yesterday with Ashton, and none of them took him by surprise like this.

“You- I- You- What?” Niall sputters, his head feeling like it’s trapped inside a tornado. “Who?”

“Billy.” Ashton answers for her. “The Morrissey kid. I-”

“Cal- Take her in the back and watch her.” Niall grunts out, peeling Molly off of his leg and picking her up to hand her to Cal, who immediately shuffles off into the back room with her.

“Niall- What are you doing?” Ashton asks carefully as Niall walks towards the door.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Niall scoffs, grabbing a wrench out of his tool belt as he pushes open the door. “I’m going to kill him.”

In retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have announced his intentions to murder a child. It’s not like Ashton is the kind of bloke to just let something like that slide. That’s why Niall only makes it a few steps outside of the door before he’s tackled to the ground with the air knocked out of his lungs.

“You’re insane.” Ashton huffs out, rearranging himself so he’s sitting on Niall’s back after removing the wrench from his grasp.

“Get off of me, you heavy bastard!” Niall growls over his shoulder, reaching back to try to punch Ashton, only to have his arm trapped behind his back.

“Not until you calm down.” Ashton says firmly.

“I’m not actually going to kill him.” Niall sighs, dropping his cheek on the grass. At least Ashton managed to knock them onto something soft instead of the brick road. Niall likes having all of his teeth, because the potion Cal makes to regrow them tastes like shit and it hurts like chewing razorblades for a week. “Just- Scare him a little.”

“You are acting like a crazy person.” Ashton says quietly, using the hand he doesn’t have seizing Niall’s to rearrange his fringe. “And not in your usual way. He’s a kid, Niall. A little boy with a crush. It was completely innocent. I saw it, and it didn’t even last long enough for me to tell them to stop it.”

“She’s growing up too fast.” Niall breathes out, letting his body go slack to show Ashton that he’s abandoning his plans for child abuse. Ashton drops off of his back, lying down on the grass next to him, and Niall rolls onto his back. “Why couldn’t she just stay a baby? Everything would be easier if she just stayed little forever.”

“It’s not like you haven’t been having an aneurysm every day about her growing up, Niall.” Ashton points out. “What’s so big about this compared to, say, illegally hiding a witch from the government?”

“I’d never thought about it.” Niall admits in a whisper, looking up to the sky and swallowing hard. “Which is stupid. Like- To most parents, kids growing up means things like kissing and boyfriends or girlfriends. Kids sneaking out, or staying out late, or- Fuck. I’d never thought about any of that.”

“You’ve been so caught up on the extraordinary circumstances, you forgot to remember the ordinary ones.” Ash says gently.

“She’s going to be six tomorrow.” Niall says, shutting his eyes. “And it won’t be long until she’s a teenager, and then she’ll be the age I was when I had her.”

“Now you sound like just a dad, instead of a bodyguard.” Ashton hums, nudging Niall with his elbow.

“Everything is going to change tomorrow.” Niall mumbles, pushing himself up into a sitting position with his arms wrapped around his knees. “I can’t even keep up with her now without losing my head. I can’t handle the normal things, so how the hell am I supposed to handle the rest of it?”

“I think you’re better equipped to handle the rest than the normal stuff.” Ashton tells him, mimicking his position. “But, maybe, you need to tone it down on being a weapon, and start being more-”

“Of a dad?” Niall mutters, burying his face in his arms.

“That’s not what I meant, Niall.” Ashton tells him, slinging an arm over Niall’s shoulder. “I just meant that- Sometimes, you treat Molly like she’s a mission. She’s not. She’s a little girl, and she’s more than just someone you have to protect. She’s learning and growing and changing every day, and it’s fine that you want to protect her, but you’ve also got to start helping her with all of those things. You can’t just shield her from the world. You have to help her learn to find her place in it.”

“Fuck.” Niall groans. “I don’t- Fuck. Give me an agent to fight or something. Give me something I can handle. Don’t make me watch her grow up.”

“Just a part of being a dad.” Ashton hums. “And I know you’ve handled things a lot scarier than this.”

“I can’t think of anything scarier than this.” Niall sighs. “I’d rather face an army of agents than- Ugh. Puberty.”

“You’ve got a minute or two before she starts puberty, Niall.” Ashton says, and Niall can practically hear the scrape of his eyeballs against their sockets.

“Not much longer, feels like.” Niall says, turning his head to look at Ashton.

“How about you two go spend the day together?” Ashton offers. “You gave us the morning off, so let us give you the afternoon with her. Enjoy the little bit of time you have left while she’s still this young.”

“Arse.” Niall snorts.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock.” Ashton says with a grin. “That’s the sound of Molly’s childhood slipping away.”

“Thanks, Ash.” Niall says quietly, climbing to his feet. “About last night-”

“Last night isn’t important today.” Ashton tells him, taking the hand Niall offers and letting himself be pulled up. “Today is about you and Molly. Tomorrow is a family day, and you’d best believe that we’re all spending it together, but today should be just you two. Go on. We’ll handle everything out here today.”

“Thanks, Ash.” Niall repeats, giving his hand a squeeze before a thought hits him and he slips off his tool belt, passing it into Ashton’s hand. “Have Luke wear this. It’s for Calum.”

“Ah.” Ashton snorts, giving a nod.

“And Cal finally caved in and agreed to buy a new oven, so I need you to keep him on that, because I’m serious about not bringing Molly around until it’s there. It’s dangerous.” Niall adds.

“Niall, go be a dad to Molly instead of us.” Ashton says with a roll of his eyes, gesturing at the café.

“Yeah, yeah.” Niall grumbles, setting off for the café with Ashton close behind.

 

“Da?” Molly asks, letting go of the spoon she’s using to stir the brownie mix so it clinks against the bowl.

“Yes, lovebug?” Niall hums, swiping a finger through the batter and sticking it in his mouth to taste. It’s disgustingly sweet, just like Luke likes them. 

Molly decided that, for the day before her birthday, she wants to make dinner for the lads, and Niall’s not really in any position to say no. So they hopped on a bus to Bath and bought supplies, came home and took a nap so they’d be awake when the lads got back from closing the pub, which they always do early the day before Molly’s birthday, and now they’re making a dish for each of the boys. A salad for Ashton and his health obsession, steak for Cal, who insists on eating red meat constantly, despite Ashton’s disapproval, and brownies for dessert, catering to Luke’s sweet tooth. They’re also making cheesy mash, because it’s Molly’s favorite, and Niall’s too.

They’re the only thing he knew how to cook for the longest time, so they eat them a lot.

“Was kissing Billy bad?” Molly questions.

“No, lovebug.” Niall sighs. “I’m sorry if I scared you earlier.”

“Why did you get mad?” Molly asks.

“I wasn’t mad, Molls.” Niall tells her. “I was- I was scared.”

“Why?” Molly questions, blinking up at Niall with those big, curious eyes of hers.

“Because I’m not ready for you to grow up yet.” Niall admits gently, smoothing down her hair. “And you’re growing up so fast.”

“Why is that scary?” Molly asks.

“It just is.” Niall says with a shrug. “You’ll understand some day, if you decide to have kids.”

“Did you and my mum decide to have me?” Molly asks.

“Um- I- Um-” Niall stutters out. It takes a gargantuan effort not to just grab a frying pan and bash his own head in. “Do you smell that? I think the steak is burning.”

“Da, you haven’t started the steaks yet.” Molly points out. Damn. She’s too smart for Niall’s good. “Was- Was I a mistake?”

“No, Molly.” Niall says firmly, grabbing her cheeks in his hands and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Love, you were not a mistake. Nothing and nobody in my entire life has ever meant more to me than you do. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and I love you more than you can imagine. We- We weren’t trying to make you, no, but that doesn’t mean you were a mistake. You were just a really perfect surprise.”

“Where is she?” Molly asks quietly, dropping her eyes down. “Didn’t she love me?”

“Oh, love.” Niall breathes out. “Yes, she loved you. When you were still inside her tummy, she used to sing to you to get you to fall asleep. She’d spend all day reading different books to try to find a name for you, and she’d rest her hand on her stomach when she read them out loud, and she would wait to see if you’d kick or not. If you kicked, it meant you didn’t like it, and she’d go on to the next one.”

“I picked my own name?” Molly asks, a small smile slipping onto her face.

“You two picked it together.” Niall chuckles. “I’m sorry I can’t answer your other question, but I don’t know where she is now.”

“Is she ever coming back?” Molly asks.

“I really don’t know.” Niall says with a sigh.

“Do you want her to?” Molly questions, reaching up and wrapping her hand around Niall’s.

“Do you?” Niall asks back.

“I don’t know.” Molly echoes Niall’s last answer. “It’s weird. It’s like I miss her, but I don’t know her. I don’t need her, I just want to know her. You and the lads are my family, not her. But-”

“But what?” Niall prompts her to continue.

“Would you be happier if she was here?” Molly asks.

“Love, your mother and I weren’t meant to be together.” Niall explains quietly. “I’d be happy if she were here so she could teach you the things I can’t, but, even if she was here, we probably wouldn’t be like other mothers and fathers.”

“So you didn’t love each other?” Molly asks him.

“It’s not that.” Niall says, shaking his head. “We were just- We were very different, your mother and me. We wanted different things, and we came from different places, and we were just- Different.”

“Because she was like me?” Molly guesses.

“It’s not because she was magical. Not really.” Niall explains, releasing her cheeks and sitting on the ledge of the table. “She was adventurous. Your mother never wanted to be in one place for very long. She had big dreams, and she had the powers and the money and the brains to accomplish all of them.”

“What did she want to do?” Molly asks, leaning on the table and putting her face in her hands, curiosity written all over her face.

“She wanted to visit the ruins of Madrid.” Niall says, closing his eyes and letting the memories wash over him. 

Barbara used to talk about things like that endlessly, chattering on and on about the past in a way that would always captivate Niall. He’d rub her feet when she was achy, and she’d launch into a one-sided discussion about Portugal’s influence on the empire’s rise, or the premature death of the scientific-technical revolution by the emergence of the magical revolution. She’d practice her lectures on Molly in-utero, and Niall would just stand in the doorway and listen for hours.

“History was your mother’s favorite thing.” Niall says through a deep gulp, shaking his head to clear away the memories like cobwebs. “She wanted to be an archaeologist, and she wanted to go see the places of power in the old world. She wanted to visit site zero, where the Americans blew open the Rupture. She wanted to travel all through the wastelands there and search through the wreckage of that country. She wanted to go back to the country where her parents were born, Hungary, and compare what it’s like now under the Soviet empire to what it was like when her parents were growing up. She wanted to see the world.”

“Don’t you?” Molly questions, cocking her head to the side.

“You’re my world.” Niall answers. “Adventure has never been high on my list of priorities. I’ve seen and done enough crazy things. I don’t really care about adding more to that list.”

“Like what?” Molly asks.

“Like answering a whole bunch of questions when the lads are going to be home any minute.” Niall hums, tapping the face of his watch. “They’re probably on their way here right now, and the brownies aren’t even in the oven.”

“Oh no!” Molly gasps, turning back to the bowl and stirring the spoon vigorously, already refocused on her task. Niall doesn’t have many more years of being able to distract her so easily. He has a feeling she’ll get very good at multi-tasking, like her mother.

 

Instincts are a funny thing. Niall was trained for a good portion of his life to wake up ready for combat, like a spring coiled up and ready to release at the first sign of trouble. It’s something that’s gotten him in trouble more than once for landing a punch on one of the lads just for shaking him awake. It’s also saved his life in two raids on mission headquarters.

But some instincts take precedence over others. Despite the years of training, there’s something about Molly’s voice, about her footsteps and touch, that keeps Niall from waking the way his father trained him to, which is something Niall thanks the universe for every year on this day.

Molly runs straight to Niall as soon as she wakes up, which always seems to happen before he does on her birthday, despite the fact that she likes to sleep like the dead most days. Niall doesn’t know if it’s her familiar tread or her muffled giggles, but he manages to wake up and take in his surroundings just in time to catch Molly, who’s flying through the air to land on top of him.

“Da!” she squeals excitedly. “It’s my birthday!”

“One year older, and yet you never learn.” Niall grunts out, wrapping his arms tight around her little torso and squeezing her while he rolls onto his side, trapping her between his body and the back of the lads’ couch. “Birthdays are for sleeping in.”

“Da, no!” Molly whines, struggling against his grip. “I don’t wanna waste my whole birthday!”

“Just a couple more hours at most.” Niall says through a fake yawn, burying his face in the pillow under his head to hide the smile he can’t stop from stretching his lips as she groans loudly. She’s so easy to rile up, some strange combination of high and low maintenance, like her mother.

“Da, I’m gonna count to three, and you better let me go.” Molly huffs after her wiggling does her no good.

“Ooh, what happens after three?” Niall asks with a laugh.

“One.” Molly counts off.

“Am I gonna go in time out?” Niall snorts.

“Two.” Molly continues, stone-faced and undeterred by Niall’s levity.

“Do I have to go to bed without supper?” Niall hums.

“Three.” Molly sighs. 

She can’t reach far with her arms trapped, but she can still manage to wiggle her fingers along Niall’s ribcage up under his armpits to the one spot he’s ticklish, making him shriek and jump back off the couch, releasing her in the process.

She swings her legs around, sitting with them crossed and hanging off the edge of the couch, and lays her hands on her lap like a little queen with hair sticking up six inches on the left side of her head.

“Brute.” Niall pouts up at her. “An absolute beast. Who raised you like that?”

“You’re such a freak sometimes, da.” Molly says with a roll of her eyes that is far too mature for Niall’s baby to be making at him. “I went easy on you.”

“What have I told you about using your powers on people?” Niall asks, pursing his lips disapprovingly.

“Only as a last resort.” Molly parrots at him, mocking his thicker accent. “I know, da. That’s why I did tickled you. I didn’t want to make you a pancake against the wall.”

“Speaking of pancakes, what do you want for breakfast?” Niall asks, lifting himself up and sitting on the edge of the coffee table.

“Not pancakes.” Molly says, shaking her head. “Eggy bread.”

“Every year, it’s the same thing.” Niall snorts. “No creativity.”

“It’s tradition.” Molly says with a shrug. “I read that people used to have cakes on their birthdays for tradition. Eggy bread is my tradition.”

“We should do cakes instead.” Niall says, wrinkling up his nose. “Cakes don’t leave my fingers all covered in batter.”

“Cakes aren’t my tradition. Eggy bread is, so go make it.” Molly says firmly, before smiling sweetly and adding a little “Please,” on the end like she doesn’t want Niall to know that she knows she’s got him wrapped around her little finger.

“Go ask the lads if they want to join.” Niall says, waving his hand towards the hall. “And knock before you go in, so they can cover up if they need to.”

“I know what to do, da.” Molly grumbles, sliding off of the couch. “I’ve slept here a bunch.”

“And run a brush through that hair first!” Niall calls after her with a laugh. “You look like an urchin out of a Dickens novel!”

Niall listens for her frustrated groan, snickering under his breath as he heads into the kitchen to the sound of her stomping down the hall. He knew she’d want eggy bread, so he picked up all the ingredients while they were grabbing things for dinner under the excuse of restocking the lads’ pantry for all of the food they’ve been eating. She probably didn’t, never really does with the little fibs he tells when he’s trying to hide a surprise from her, but she didn’t say anything about it, so she was probably either too excited to notice, or indulging him. She does that.

It would probably be patronizing if she wasn’t so cute.

Molly’s morning routine is unusually involved compared to most kids her age, and Luke’s influence shows when they’re the last two to filter into the kitchen, even though Calum and Ashton took a shower before they came out.

And even though Niall makes her eggy bread at least once a week, because she hates his eggs, her face breaks into a huge smile when she sees the plate sitting on the table with a candle in the middle of her stack. She jumps up excitedly into her chair, and sits with her hands folded in her lap while they sing to her, which is a tradition Niall thinks they should have definitely gotten rid of before cakes. He hates singing, always feels really awkward, especially when Luke sings too, because that boy could knock out an entire theatre with his voice.

But Molly giggles the whole way through, delight written all over her features, so Niall sticks it out to the end, clapping along with the lads as she blows out the little candle Niall managed to track down a few weeks back. It’s hard to find things like, things from the era before magic rose up as the great de-equalizer and changed the world and people’s lives to suit the whims of the percent of the populace that could use it over the ones who couldn’t. Traditions were changed at a rapid pace, wiping out little pockets of history and inserting new things in their place so that people would forget about the world before. A million faked miracles to blind people to their new reality, because people proved that their memories were all too short.

Niall only realizes he’s withdrawn into his head when Molly tugs on his sleeve, and makes him laugh more than he can remember in years when she holds up her empty plate and says, “Please, sir, I want some more.”

 

“Da, is it staying in alright?” Molly asks for the fifth time in as many minutes as they walk down the street, gesturing to the little silver butterfly clipping her fringe up and out of her face.

It’s not much, just around an inch in width and old, with most of the metal of the wings and the pearl body having tarnished with age. Calum promised to whip up a potion to take care of it and make it shine, but he’s having trouble finding the right recipe, so Niall had to give it to her as is. He’s just lucky he found it at all, given the laws surrounding the purchase of precious metals by non-magicals, and the rarity of antique jewelry these days.

“It’s staying in perfectly, lovebug.” Niall chuckles, reassuring her as they turn down the alleyway behind the bookshop so she can pick up her gifts from the lads. “I’ve never seen you worry like this over any of your other clips.”

“I’ve never owned anything so pretty.” Molly whispers reverentially, patting at the clip.

“And very pretty it is.” comes a voice from the other end of the alley, chillingly familiar, despite the fact that Niall has only met its bearer once. Niall moves in front of Molly quickly, standing between her and the magician, whose fingers are already alight with green sparks once again. “Far too pretty for a little non-magical like you.”

“Didn’t learn your lesson the other night?” Niall sneers, taking a step forward.

“On the contrary.” the magician says with a smirk, firing off a bolt from his fingers that shoots straight into the brick on Niall’s left, scorching the wall. “I’ve been very careful this time, keeping my eye on you for the right time to pay you back for that insult. If you’ll look in the center of that burn mark, there’s an old copper coin stuck to the wall. I’ve been practicing my accuracy. Take another step, and I bet I can do the same to her. You’re quick, but do you think you’re that quick?”

“What do you want?” Niall asks, holding his hands up in front of his chest to show his surrender to the fucker.

“Payback.” the magician spits out, walking towards Niall. “So you’re going to take her clip and her necklace and slide them over to me, and then you’re going to take a shot from me, after you apologize.”

“Da?” Molly asks from behind Niall, peeking around his leg.

“Do what the man says, Molly.” Niall says quietly, his heart falling to pieces when she takes the clip out of her hair with tears in her eyes. “It’ll all be okay, I promise. I’ll get you something even better.”

“Don’t get hurt, please, da.” Molly whimpers, pressing it into his hand, along with her necklace quickly after. The necklace will come back, but Niall prays it stays off long enough for the magician not to notice. The spell on it seems to be very temperamental, and less timely with age, so it should.

“I promise.” Niall repeats softly, chucking the jewelry across the open space between him and the magician so it lands at his feet. “I’m sorry I insulted you and assaulted you.”

“Non-magicals need to acknowledge their betters.” the magician growls. “Say it.”

“We need to acknowledge our betters.” Niall echoes back to him, fingernails digging into his palms so hard that he knows he’s drawn blood from the warm wetness that flows down to his knuckle.

“Good dog.” the magician scoffs, the sparks in his hand flaring up brightly before they arc at him, sending a wave of pain rushing through his body as he hits the ground, screaming in agony.

Magic is a funny thing. Magicians and witches claim to be able to sense it, to feel it churning in the air, but anyone can, if they’ve been trained. If you know what signs to look for, magic is very easy to sense in a variety of ways. Disturbances in the air, or humming that’s so low you aren’t sure it’s really happening, or, in this case, the scent of ozone. Niall’s ability to smell and taste and see and hear and feel were all trained in depth so that he wouldn’t have anything to fear when it came to magic. So he could combat it before it was unleashed.

So the scent of ozone has always been an advantage to him on a sunny day like today, never something to strike fear into his heart. Until now.

The smell is overwhelming, like just before a sudden storm, flooding his nostrils at the same time Molly’s scream pierces his eardrum. He only has time to feel the fear for a second before the world is exploding around him and he’s sent soaring through the air, along with the bricks of the walls and the alley floor, towards the magician. He manages to catch onto the corner of the wall at the end of the alley before the bricks peel away, manages to see Molly floating in the center of a massive disturbance in the air around her, hair and clothes swirling and flapping like she’s standing in the center of a hurricane.

Another body shows up at the other end of the alley, his mouth moving to form a word, and then the air goes still and Molly falls to the ground, unconscious.

“What did you do?” Niall yells as the witch strides past her, struggling to find his feet when his body, rightfully, feels like it’s been thrown in a mixer.

“Knocked her out.” the witch says gruffly, grabbing Niall’s elbow to steady him. “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt her. I’m an empath. I funneled all of her emotions out of her until her brain couldn’t form a coherent thought and shut itself off temporarily. It’s the psychic equivalent of hitting someone in the head with a frying pan. She’ll have a headache, but she’ll be fine.”

“If she’s not-” Niall starts to growl.

“She will be.” the witch repeats, leaning Niall against what remains of the wall after Molly’s outburst. “And if she isn’t, I’ll let you do whatever you want to me. I’ll also take care of this mess, and perform a spell to rid this arsehole of his memories. Right now, you need to get her out of here.”

“How are you-” Niall starts again.

“I have several skills. Rebuilding is a specialty of mine, despite the non-physical nature of my inherent power. I’m very clumsy, and my mum had a lot of breakable things.” the witch cuts him off again. “I will answer any questions you have tonight, and you’ll answer mine. I’ll be at the pub, and this whole thing will be cleaned up. But if you don’t want to get wrapped up in what people will think is a duel between magicals, you need to go.”

“Her present.” Niall says, staring at the baubles on the ground next to the magician.

“Tonight. The pub.” the witch hisses, pushing at Niall’s shoulder. “Go. Get her out of here.”

“What’s your name?” Niall asks. “Because if she’s not fine, and I have to waste time hunting you down, having your name is going to make things a lot easier on both of us.”

“Harry.” the witch tells him. “Harry Styles. And if she’s not fine, you won’t have to come looking. I told you, you can do whatever you want to me.”

 

***

 

It’s been two hours since Niall left the house, deaf to the protests of Ashton and Calum and Luke and Molly, begging him to stay. It’s been an hour since he left the cottage with all of the cash wedged under the loose floorboard under his bed and six clips to reload the gun he took. And it’s been ten minutes since Harry Styles arrived at the pub Niall didn’t open and sat across the bar from him.

Not a word has been said yet.

“Don’t suppose I could get anything to eat?” is how Harry Styles decides to finally start the conversation.

“That’s really your most pressing question at the moment?” Niall asks, bracing his bandaged hands against the edge of the bar.

“It’s just-” Harry starts, waving his hand in a circle near his face. “I was on my way to the bakery to get some breakfast when everything happened this morning. Then I spent the next few hours casting a series of spells that took up a lot of energy, and, well- I’m hungry.”

“Here.” Niall grunts out, grabbing the jug of nuts they keep behind the bar to keep people from getting too drunk to stumble back home and slamming it down on the counter between them.

“Bloody lifesaver, you are.” Harry says with an overly-enthusiastic grin that doesn’t fit the situation before shoving an entire handful of peanuts in his overly large gob. It’s very tempting for Niall to stick something else in there instead, namely his fist or gun.

“What happened to the magician?” Niall asks, grabbing Harry’s wrist when he reaches for another handful.

“He’s on a bus with a big black spot where his memories of the last few days should be.” Harry answers. “Can I have the nuts now?”

“Can he undo the spell that you used?” Niall questions.

“Not without someone much more powerful and experienced with psychic abilities.” Harry says firmly. “He won’t put that much effort into it. I left a wad of cash in his pocket to make sure he doesn’t think about it too much. Blokes like him- They don’t think so well if they have something to distract them.”

“Why are you helping me?” Niall asks, relinquishing Harry’s hand.

“Why are you keeping a witch of age unregistered?” Harry counters, popping a peanut into his mouth.

“A bold assumption.” Niall mutters.

“There are no registered witches in this village.” Harry says with a shrug. “I work for the government. I know these things.”

“And what exactly do you do for the government?” Niall asks, the cold metal of the gun pressed against his back reassurance for his strong stance.

“Nothing so interesting.” Harry waves him off. “I’m an assistant to the regional chairwoman of the northern British territories. Basically a secretary.”

“Bullshite.” Niall scoffs. “You’re military, at the very least. Secretaries don’t have burn scars like that. Secretaries don’t have reflexes like yours. Secretaries don’t have the ability to know who’s on their terrace by hearing the footsteps of a person they’ve barely met.”

“I went to a military run academy, but I never signed on.” Harry says calmly. “I was taught to fight, but I was never really any good at it. My last year there, I got in a duel with another student. He was a pyromancer. That’s where my scar came from. I’m almost entirely blind in my left eye because of it, so I wasn’t able to join up, and being half blind has heightened my senses, particularly my hearing, and that’s why I could tell you from footsteps.”

It’s a lie. Everything coming from this witch’s mouth right now is a lie, and Niall knows it. He feels it in his bones. What he doesn’t know is why Harry is lying.

So he decides to play along.

“Fine.” Niall grunts out. “Then- Here. Take this, and leave this village tonight.”

He pulls the bag of money out from under the bar and sets it in front of Harry.

“There should be more than enough in there for you to ‘forget’ what happened this afternoon.” Niall says bluntly.

“Why does someone like you have this much money?” Harry asks, looking through the stacks of banded notes.

“It was for a tutor.” Niall admits. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Who’s going to tutor your daughter if you give me this?” Harry asks, ignoring the warning in Niall’s voice.

“None of your business.” Niall repeats, pushing the words out through his teeth like something toxic while his hand twitches with the desire to reach under the back of his shirt and grab his gun. He could put an end to this quickly, but it would bring things crashing down around his ears in the long run, and he can’t risk that with Molly.

“You made it my business today.” Harry says, looking up from the bag. “I said it earlier- I’ll answer any questions of yours, and you’re going to answer mine. And rein in that temper of yours. It’s giving me a migraine suppressing all that rage.”

“I don’t know who’s going to tutor her.” Niall mutters, leaning back against the shelf behind him and sighing heavily. “But I do know that this is my immediate problem, so I’ll figure something else out later.”

“I’m not your immediate problem.” Harry says, rubbing at his temple. “Your daughter is an incredibly powerful witch. And when I say incredible, I mean it. Telekinesis of that magnitude in a child her age- It’s remarkable.”

“She’s never been that strong before.” Niall mumbles. “I think it’s just about how upset she was.”

“No, it isn’t.” Harry says softly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Molly’s necklace. “Do you know what this is?”

“A bloody curse.” Niall spits out. “Her mother spelled it to return to her neck whenever it’s taken off. The spell must have broken when it snapped.”

“A repossession spell is hardly all that was on here. And all of the spells broke when this did.” Harry says, setting it on the table and adding her butterfly, fully put back together. “There were charms for protection against physical harm.”

“Figured that one out a few years back when she fell off the bar and giggled about it.” Niall nods. “So?”

“So there was also a suppression spell on it of a level I’ve never encountered.” Harry tells him. “A spell so powerful that you shouldn’t have even known your daughter had powers, because she shouldn’t have been able to manifest them. The fact that she even manifested is remarkable in its own right.”

“What are you saying?” Niall asks.

“I’m saying that, with the proper inciting event, and a lack of understanding her powers, your daughter could destroy this entire village by accident.” Harry whispers. “Niall – Can I call you Niall? Your daughter needs a tutor, and she needs one now, because what happened today is the tip of the iceberg in comparison to what she’s capable of doing if she can’t control her powers.”

“Can you fix the spell?” Niall questions.

“Nothing I can do is anywhere near this level of magic.” Harry sighs. “It’s not just the intricacy or difficulty of the spells. There was a very, very strong level of emotion put into them.”

Niall scoffs, but says nothing.

“When did she manifest?” Harry asks.

“Two.” Niall admits.

“Her power has been suppressed for four years, and it’s only going to keep growing.” Harry says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “In the time that it takes you to find a tutor and build back up the funds to pay them, you’re risking the lives of everyone around her.”

“I can handle her.” Niall huffs.

“No, Niall, you can’t.” Harry mutters, reaching up and pushing the fringe off of his forehead. “That’s precisely what I’m telling you here. I don’t mean to be rude, but what do you know about having powers?”

“Nothing, but I know a hell of a lot about self-control.” Niall counters angrily.

“What’s inside your daughter isn’t just an urge, although if she continues to suppress her powers now that they’ve fully manifested, it’s quite possible that they will force themselves out of her body against her will.” Harry says flatly. “What’s inside of her is a wild kind of energy that she needs intense training to learn to control. She needs someone to teach her now. Preferably someone who has experience with psychic abilities, and who can suppress her powers if she loses control.”

“Calum was raised in a powerful magical family. He’ll be enough until I can build up funds and find someone.” Niall sighs, tipping his head back against the shelf and wondering if he could get away with one drink before he shakes the thought out of his head. “It’s not ideal, but I’ll make it work.”

“You’re ignoring a blatantly obvious solution.” Harry hums.

“And what, pray tell, is that?” Niall scoffs, shooting a glare at the witch.

“You’ve got a government licensed witch sitting in front of you with exactly the kind of experience and skills needed, and who would be willing to tutor her in exchange for this bag of money, and that doesn’t involve finding someone else and hoping they won’t blow the whistle.” Harry grins.

“Oh, fuck you.” Niall groans, rolling his eyes.

“I’m your best option.” Harry says with a shrug. “Now, I can take this money and leave, or I can tutor your daughter, then take this money and leave.”

“Fuck.” Niall breathes out, rubbing his knuckles into his temples and wishing he could just turn back the clock to yesterday and do this all over again. Unfortunately, his prayer isn’t answered, and all he’s got is a very smug looking witch sitting in front of him, eating peanuts through a smirk that Niall is eventually going to shoot off of his face.

Right now, though, he has no other choice than to accept.

 

Niall isn’t sure which body collides with him first between the three that manage to land on him as soon as he gets the door open, but he’s pretty sure that Luke is the one that topples him over onto his arse. This is why he left the gun at the pub.

He manages not to completely go down, which is good, because Molly’s arms are wrapped around his waist and he doesn’t want her hurt any more than she already has been today.

“Hey, lovebug.” Niall murmurs, kissing the top of her head around Calum’s arm. “You alright?”

“Are you?” Molly asks, looking up at him with wide eyes ringed red from crying.

“Well, my bum hurts, but I’m fine otherwise.” Niall tells her, putting on an easy smile. “How’s your head?”

“Cal gave me a tonic that made it feel better.” Molly says through a sniffle, wiping her nose with her arm. “Are you really okay?”

“I told you I would be.” Niall nods. “And I told you not to worry. Your da can handle himself, lovebug. At least- I can when I haven’t got three people on me.”

“Sorry.” Molly giggles, kissing the tip of his nose before she climbs up to her feet.

“Just another couple seconds.” Calum mumbles into Niall’s shoulder, tightening his hold.

“I thought you’d come back covered in blood.” Luke whispers on the other side, making Niall sigh.

“Seriously, lads, I need my personal space.” Niall groans, squirming in their arms.

Ashton steps forward and reaches out to Niall, pulling him up and out of Calum and Luke’s hold. Niall’s about to thank him, but he’s caught off guard by a stinging sensation burning itself into his cheek as his vision goes blurry.

“How dare you?” Ashton growls out, eyes going stormy as Niall looks back to him. “How could you do that when all of us asked you not to?”

“How could I not?” Niall replies icily. “What other option was there?”

“Ash-” Calum starts, stepping up to Niall’s side.

“He put us all at risk by going alone.” Ashton bites out, his eyes never leaving Niall’s.

“What was I supposed to do?” Niall asks harshly. “Which one of you three would have done me any good in that situation?”

“We’re not useless.” Ashton says through gritted teeth.

“You would have been useless in there.” Niall sighs. “Ashton, if I had to do anything, any of you three would have tried to stop me.”

“And did you have to do anything?” Ashton asks, his eyes going even harder.

“I- I made a deal.” Niall mutters.

“How long until he’s gone?” Luke asks.

“How do you know he’s going to keep quiet?” Calum questions.

“Molly, go pack your things. We’re going back home.” Niall says quietly, pointedly leaving their questions unanswered.

“Tonight?” Molly asks weakly, staring up at him with big eyes.

“Yeah, lovebug, tonight.” Niall nods. “I found your butterfly, and I already dropped it off at the house.”

“Do we have to?” Molly questions, scooting closer to Calum and ignoring Niall’s bait.

“Yes, Molly, we have to.” Niall sighs.

“Why?” Molly asks.

“Because I’m your father and I said so.” Niall says firmly. “Molly. Go. We’re going home and I don’t want any more questions about it.”

“Niall-” Luke starts.

“You three don’t get a say.” Niall grunts out, pointing down the hallway while keeping eye contact with Molly. “Go.”

“What the hell happened tonight to turn you into such a dick?” Calum asks once Molly disappears down the hall, stomping angrily and wiping at her eyes.

“You mean besides this one hitting me?” Niall hisses, jerking his thumb at Ashton. “Or my daughter getting hurt and exposed as a witch? How about the fact that she’s so powerful that she basically broke a charm that was supposed to suppress her powers? Or maybe that she could hurt herself and everyone around her if she doesn’t immediately start training? Or it could be that I had to agree to let the goddamn witch tutor her so she doesn’t explode or something? Because I don’t really fucking understand it myself, if I’m being honest!”

“Niall-” Calum murmurs, catching his hand as it waves around wildly. “You’re yelling.”

“I bloody know I’m yelling, Calum!” Niall snaps. “And I don’t bloody care! Because my entire world hinges on someone that I can’t bloody stand keeping a secret that he has no reason to keep besides the money he wouldn’t even take and run!”

“So he’s staying.” Ashton sighs.

“Yes, Ashton, he’s staying.” Niall says snidely. “How very fucking astute of you.”

“Don’t be a bitch.” Ashton says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry for punching you.”

“You should be sorry that after all the lessons I’ve given you, you still don’t have half the impact in your right hook that Molly would.” Niall scoffs.

“Listen- You’re obviously worked up right now.” Luke says gently, stroking Niall’s cheek. “Why don’t you let Molly stay the night, and come get her in the morning, once you’ve calmed down?”

“I-” Niall starts, dropping his eyes down and taking a gulp. “Fine. I’ll be back in the morning. Just- Tell her I love her, alright?”

“We will.” Calum nods, pressing his forehead to Niall’s.

“And keep her calm.” Niall adds quietly. “Apparently, she could level this house if she has a fit, and that’s just the beginning.”

“One display of immense power under stress doesn’t mean she’s always going to be that strong, Niall.” Calum points out, and normally that would be a good point. Unfortunately, it’s not now. “She’s never shown anything like the power that you talked about from earlier.”

“Yeah, because she was wearing this.” Niall mutters, pulling Barbara’s pendant. “Harry says that Barbara spelled it to suppress Molly’s powers, and everything we’ve seen so far from her until the medallion broke was just her powers managing to leak out. She is much, much more powerful than any of us thought. What she did today wasn’t just an extraordinary circumstance. It was her real manifestation. That’s her real power.”

“Fuck.” Calum breathes out.

“Which means that not only is she dangerous, she’s also going to draw a lot more attention as she gets older, because her powers will only grow, according to what he told me.” Niall adds on.

“Which is why you agreed to let him teach her?” Ashton guesses.

“He can shut her down if she goes out of control.” Niall nods. “He did it before, and he at least has some experience with psychically based powers. He’s the best choice I have. Actually, he’s the only choice I have.”

“I don’t like it.” Calum mutters.

“Neither do I.” Niall says quietly. “Especially because there’s a good chance I’m still going to have to take care of him in the end.”

“Why?” Luke ask softly.

“Because he knows too much already, and he’s going to know more afterwards.” Niall explains, pulling away from the group and walking towards the door. “If I can use him, I will. But I will not trust him. I won’t put Molly’s life in anyone else’s hands. So unless someone can think of some way to fix the problem of him knowing everything, then I’m going to have to put a bullet in him once Molly is trained.”


	2. We Know Love's a World Above this One

“Oh thank god, you’re here.” Louis groans as soon as Niall steps into the lab. “He has been babbling non-stop for an hour.”

“Liam doesn’t babble, Louis.” Niall chides, waving him off and drinking from his coffee.

“Not Liam, your monkey man.” Louis huffs, smacking Niall in the back of the head.

“You woke him up?” Niall asks angrily, throwing a glare at him. “What the fuck, Louis?”

“His respiratory system was slowing down and I didn’t want there to be any long term effects.” Louis says with a shrug. “Would’ve let him suffocate if I knew he’d be this difficult.”

“Byddaf yn bwydo'ch cnawd at fy ffrind.” Harry yells, alerting Niall to his presence behind the barrier. “Eich llygaid fydd gyntaf.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Niall breathes out, his jaw dropping open. “He properly speaks.”

“So go fucking translate.” Louis grunts, kicking at Niall’s thigh.

“It’s not a human language!” Niall hisses, smacking Louis’ ankle.

“You’re the communications officer.” Louis huffs, turning Niall by the shoulder and pushing him towards Harry’s containment unit. “Bloody communicate!”

Niall stumbles forward before managing to right himself a few feet from the containment unit. One would expect Harry to have a fear reaction considering that Niall shocked him and through him in a prison-like environment in a foreign structure, but no. Harry is looming large, chest puffed out as close as he can get to the containment unit, and glaring down at Niall.

“Bach iawn.” Harry huffs out, his eyes narrowing. “Byddaf yn torri'ch aelodau oddi arnoch ac yn eu twyllo tu mewn i chi.”

“Jesus Christ.” Niall sighs, standing up as tall as he can. Harry has several inches on him now that he’s out of his exo-suit, and he suddenly wishes he had it on. Harry’s lip curls up in a fanged snarl, but Niall refuses to show any sign of fear. He knows it won’t help his case. “We, um- We come in peace.”

Louis busts out into a cackle behind him, shrieking out laughs until he’s sputtering for air and laying on his side across the table.

Niall ignores him.

Harry makes no acknowledgment of what Niall’s said, and that’s really to be expected. He obviously doesn’t understand Niall any more than Niall understands him. All the words in the universe don’t mean a damned thing when two people don’t understand each other.

Right now, there’s only one thing that Harry will understand. Gestures.

Niall sighs and reaches into his pocket, pulling out Harry’s charm. Harry’s eyes go wide immediately in recognition, and he reaches for it before his hand bounces off the barrier.

Niall points to Harry, and then to the other side of the cell before Harry gets the idea and retreats away, his demeanor entirely different than it was a moment ago. His shoulders are hunched and his eyes pointed down from Niall’s face.

“Louis, give me the remote operator for the containment unit.” Niall orders.

“You’d better know what you’re doing, Niall.” Louis sighs, tossing over the device.

Niall doesn’t have a fucking clue what he’s doing, but that’s not exactly new. His career has mainly just been a series of blunders and decisions to wing it. There’s not exactly a guidebook for this sort of thing.

Niall clicks open the barrier, and Harry immediately lunges for the necklace. Luckily, Niall is slightly faster, clicking it back shut before Harry can reach him. He points again, ignoring Harry’s fist connecting with the barrier and the words that don’t mean anything to him.

Harry skulks back to the back of the unit, keeping a watchful eye as Niall opens the barrier again. He makes no move this time, so Niall steps forward and sets the totem on the ground, snapping the barrier back shut. There was no need, apparently. Harry only darts forward to grab the necklace before he falls back to the other side, probably so that Niall can’t take it away again.

“Liam, can you bring me Harry’s pack and the things inside of it?” Niall requests.

“I wasn’t done analyzing that critter, Niall.” Louis huffs.

“We’ll find you another.” Niall waves him off, accepting the pack with a grateful smile towards Liam. “Get back now, Li. Don’t want you getting hurt again.”

“You’re opening it again?” Louis asks incredulously.

“No, I’m just going to torture him by dangling this in front of him.” Niall scoffs, opening back up the barrier and tossing the pack over to Harry before shutting it again.

Harry looks down at it, then back up at Niall. Niall points over towards Gemma’s unit, then shuts off the barrier that separates them. Harry scrambles to his feet and sprints into the other unit, crouching down next to Gemma.

“The sedative is off, right?” Niall questions, looking over at Louis.

“Turned it off when you decided to give him the pack.” Louis confirms with a nod. “She should start waking up momentarily.”

“Byddwch yn iawn.” Harry murmurs to Gemma as he removes the leaves from the pack and starts pressing them onto the wound gently. “Byddaf yn gofalu amdanoch chi.”

“I love being right.” Niall hums to himself while tapping away at his tablet.

“What are you up to now?” Louis asks, leaning forward to try to see over Niall’s shoulder.

“Summoning Bressie.” Niall tells him. “I’m going to need him as soon as possible.”

“Insatiable.” Louis snorts. “Three times wasn’t enough?”

“I need him for work.” Niall says, rolling his eyes. “I’m going to go have Ash pick him up, but do you think it’ll grab attention if I mark the run as priority?”

“I think that, if that’s a question you’ve got to ask, then you already know the answer.” Louis chides, digging in his ear with his pinky. God, he’s gross. He’s also right though, as much as Niall is loath to admit it.

“There’s three scheduled runs already.” Niall sighs. “It’ll be hours before Ash can get him here.”

“What do you even need him for?” Louis questions, flicking away some wax.

“He has every language on Earth programmed into him.” Niall answers.

“And the big pink monkey man doesn’t speak any Earth language, so I don’t see your point.” Louis says dryly, leveling Niall with an unimpressed stare.

“I know language, but he knows it better.” Niall explains. “He understands syntax and grammatical structure better than I ever could because the totality of human knowledge regarding language and all of its mechanics are programmed into his brain. He’ll recognize patterns and help me build a translation program. If there’s any chance of communication, then he’ll be the best chance at helping me bridge that gap.”

“He’s TEPEA issued.” Louis points out. “That’s a big risk.”

“Luckily, I’ve got a founding member with top level clearance that even an operative can’t crack.” Niall grins. “Get started. If you can do it, I’ll tell you about how it was to shag Bressie.”

“Liam!” Louis shrieks. “Bring me my tablet and some coffee! We have a mission!”

 

“Jesus Christ, what are you three doing?” Niall groans when Calum, Ashton and Luke shuffle through the door with Bressie. That would be fine, if Bressie didn’t have a bag over his head and his wrists weren’t tied together.

“You’re the one who said to keep this away from-” Luke starts, only for Niall to cut him off with, “Bressie, activate privacy mode.”

“Yes, chief.” Bressie says dutifully, his voice chipper, like he’s unfazed by the whole thing. He probably is.

“You said to keep it quiet and away from TEPEA.” Ashton says, finishing Luke’s thought.

“I summoned him, you dolts.” Niall groans. “He knew where he was coming, and I’ve got Louis and Liam working on limiting external access into Bressie’s head, using my access and his.”

“We didn’t want him seeing anything before he was secure.” Calum says with a shrug.

“What do you see?” Niall asks, waving around the lab. The triad looks around confused, unable to spot the containment unit with Harry and Gemma, even though both xenomorphs are only ten meters to their left. It just looks like walls. “Do you think we don’t know how to keep shit secret by now? We’ve got top tier holographic projectors built into every square inch of this place. Helps keep the specimens from wanting to try eating each other.”

“So you’re telling me that we wrestled this big bastard for nothing?” Calum asks with a weary sigh.

“Yes, and not just because he would have come along without any problems if you’d just asked. You three eejits are all listed as peripheral users. Bressie will follow any order you give him as long as it doesn’t override one I’ve given him.” Niall explains. Luke brightens up at that, and Niall adds, “Which include an order not to have sex with any or all of you three, unless that’s what he wants.”

“Why did you give us access?” Calum asks, cupping a hand over Luke’s mouth as he draws in a breath with an offended look on his pretty face.

“Because, despite the extreme lack of competency you three have shown in this whole thing, I trust you guys.” Niall tells him. “We need you lads to help with what is going to possibly be the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. The five of us, plus Bressie and Liam, may have discovered true sentient life.”

“It’s not incompetence when they’re hot, Niall.” Louis hums, looking up at him from the ground and pulling out his music from one ear. “It’s just misplaced enthusiasm.”

“Can you not think with your dick for five minutes?” Niall sighs. “You’re supposed to be doing something.”

“I finished that.” Louis waves him off. “Now I’m reviewing the shower-cam footage from the lovebirds’ flat.”

“The what now?” Ashton asks.

“He’s kidding.” Niall says quickly, kicking Louis in the side. Given what Niall can see on Louis’ tablet, he’s absolutely telling the truth, but Niall really needs the four idiot humans around him to function together. “Take the bag off his head. Bressie, exciter.”

Calum snorts out a laugh at that, shooting Niall a look. He must know French, which makes Niall’s cheeks darken with a blush.

“What do you need, chief?” Bressie asks once his face is uncovered. “And may I remove these bonds?”

“Yeah, you can.” Niall tells him. He reaches to grab a scalpel to cut the zip-ties, but Bressie simply pulls his hands apart and breaks them. Niall should have known. “Bressie, how many users do you answer to?”

“You, Louis, Ashton, Calum, Luke.” Bressie lists off. “All other user access has been blocked. This is against protocol, chief. I will have to revert- Oh.”

“Founding member access overrides protocol, yes?” Niall asks him.

“Yes.” Bressie nods. “Unless both you and Louis order me otherwise, or you both perish, communication protocol is locked into current users only.”

“Does that include the operative?” Niall questions.

“The operative is not on the list of currently approved users.” Bressie answers.

“Good.” Niall hums, pressing a button on his tablet to drop the holographic projections covering the containment units and revealing the other two inhabitants of the room. “Bressie, this is Harry. He’s possibly sentient, and I need you to help me decode his language so we can build a translation protocol for the devices and communicate between our races.”

“That sounds like fun, chief.” Bressie grins. “Where should we start?”

“Mawr.” Harry says from behind the barrier, glaring straight at Bressie. He stiffens, puffing himself up, but he’s still no match for Bressie’s size, which seems to aggravate him, if the way he slaps his palm against the barrier is any indication.

“He’s a little hostile.” Niall explains, leading Bressie over.

“He’s imprisoned. Hostility is a given.” Bressie comments. “You have soft-light projectors, but do you have hard-light ones?”

“Why?” Louis asks, peering around Niall’s shoulder on his other side.

“Because they are creatures of the forest, no?” Bressie points out. “You have no other specimens in this lab at the moment, so there is plenty of room for you to build a hard-light simulation of their natural environment to put them more at ease.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Louis says, looking into the unit. He smacks Niall on the arm and asks, “Why didn’t you think of that?”

“I’ve been busy recording everything he says to give Bressie something to work with to start building the translation protocol.” Niall says with a roll of his eyes.

“I think the best option to open the lines of communication is to give a peace offering.” Bressie says with a shrug.

“Liam, how long will it take to build a hard-light simulation of the forest?” Louis asks, looking over at the suddenly sullen looking synth.

“I can have one done in ten minutes if you can commandeer me two drones.” Liam answers, not looking up at Louis.

“You know my info.” Louis nods.

Perfect. That’s just enough time for Niall to get his exo-suit and get back.

 

“Chwilfrydedd.” Harry mumbles, looking up at the forest that sprouted in an instant. It’s much smaller than the one he’s from, because Louis’ lab isn’t nearly tall enough for the full-sized versions of the trees, let alone anything near the range, but it’s a good model. Liam did well.

Gemma slinks closer to Harry, wrapping around his legs like a cat. A cat that’s four feet tall at the shoulder and is covered in scales and breathes fire, but, still- It’s a very feline action.

“You’re a fucking idiot.” Louis mutters, glaring at Niall as he raises a barrier around the forest.

“Dyma swyngyfareddion.” Harry says, shooting a look at Niall. “Beth ydych chi'n blentyn seren?”

“Everything you say is a mystery to me.” Niall returns, smiling softly. A mystery he can’t wait to unravel.

Niall opens up a small portion of the panel in front of him, and then steps into the forest. Once he’s inside, it closes quickly, and he takes a deep breath. It’s now or never, and Niall can’t tell if he wants to throw up out of fear or excitement.

He taps at his arm and opens up the barrier between Harry and Gemma’s unit and the new one. Immediately he goes on the defensive, leaping back as Harry ducks low and rushes forward towards his legs, and Gemma leaps high into the air. 

Niall was prepared for that, though. His reflexes kick into high gear, and he flips upwards, using Harry’s shoulder for leverage. He pushes Harry down into the ground and connects the boot of his exo-suit with Gemma’s side. He lands lightly on his feet and rolls his neck around as Harry and Gemma gather themselves up off of the floor.

Apparently they’ve learned that a simultaneous attack is a bad idea, because Gemma crawls off on his left while Harry circles to his right. It’ll make things more difficult, but not too much for Niall. And, hopefully, it’ll teach them a lesson in the end.

Gemma moves first, mouth open and sparking as she jumps forward. The jet of flame she lets out proves ineffective against the circular barrier Niall erects out of the palm of his left glove. That doesn’t stop her from trying though, puffing out streaks of fire that Niall can feel the heat of in the air on his face.

She’s just the distraction, though, and Niall knows it. That’s why he turned his whole body towards her, to draw Harry in. It works beautifully.

He activates his pulse boots at the last second, jumping twenty feet into the air in an instant. Harry was going for Niall’s waist, based on his angle, but ends up crashing face first into Gemma. They roll in a heap on the floor, coming to a stop as Niall lands on a branch in the closest tree.

They both jump up, looking for him, and he whistles to grab their attention.

It’s strange, the way they move like that. They’re so in sync, despite the fact that Harry issues no commands, and they don’t even seem to look at one another. They move back in perfect step, sizing Niall up. There’s an underlying form of communication there, be it through scent or sub-human-range vocalizations or something else that Niall hasn’t figured out. That makes things much more interesting, if not a bit harder in trying to communicate.

“Are you done?” Niall asks, pushing off of the branch and dropping down to the ground.

He gets his answer in the form of Harry lunging forward. Niall’s response is just to engage him in hand to hand, keeping an eye on Gemma as he easily blocks Harry’s assault. Gemma seems to have learned already, staying back from the fight as Harry and Niall circle around each other.

Harry tries a variety of attacks, each as ineffectual as the last. Niall’s suit lets him move more that quickly enough to shrug off the attacks as simply as if he were moving in slow motion. Blows come at his face, his torso, his legs and arms. Niall has no problem with any of them, and actually begins to have fun, even as Harry gets more aggressive.

He speeds up, lashing out with his feet almost as often as his hands, and it makes Niall’s curiosity peak, wondering if this is some rudimentary form of martial arts, or just instinct. Then he lunges at Niall’s neck with his teeth, and Niall decides it’s probably instinct.

It takes close to ten minutes before Harry finally falls to the ground and stays there, panting heavily. Gemma lays down next to him and lets out a sigh before licking once at his forehead, and then nipping at his fingers when he reaches towards her. She’s clearly not impressed.

Niall leans against the base of the tree he’d jumped into earlier, watching as Harry slowly regains his composure and flops onto his back.

“Dwi ddim yn hoffi chi.” Harry mutters, aiming a half-hearted kick at Niall, even though he’s nowhere near close enough. “Pe bawn i'n bwyta cnawd, byddwn yn eich bwyta fy hun blentyn seren.”

“You done?” Niall hums, cocking his head to the side. “I can literally keep this up all day.”

The damned communication barrier is the bane of his existence at the moment, but Harry must understand the basic sentiment, because he folds himself up into a sitting position, but makes no move to come at Niall again. He looks kind of adorable like that, a hominid-like organism with bright pink fur, who’s over two meters tall and very long limbed, with his legs wrapped in front of him like a little kid. The pout he hides in his knees certainly doesn’t help.

His mannerisms are so human that it drives Niall a little bit crazy. Finding intelligent life is one thing. Statistically that was more likely than not. But that sentient life being humanoid, with human-like language and mannerisms- The odds on that are so insanely high that Niall can’t even begin to calculate it out. He’ll have to ask Bressie to run that calculation for him, later. It’ll make a great introduction to his report.

“This is all for you.” Niall explains, waving his hands at the forest, and then Harry and Gemma. He repeats it over and over, signaling between them and the holograms, trying to get them to understand. He points into the branches, and around the bases of the trees, and anything he can think of while saying, “For you.”

“F- Foo-uhr- yoo.” Harry says slowly, clunkily, and it makes Niall’s heart skip a beat. If it weren’t for his exo-suit, his knees probably would have buckled when Harry pats at his chest then Gemma’s head. “Foor yooh.”

“Niall.” the human tells the monkey-man, feeling like Jane Goodall to the thousandth power as he points to his own chest.

“Nye-uhl.” Harry repeats, pointing at Niall, then pointing back to himself and says, “Foor yooh.”

“Niall.” he repeats, gesturing to himself, then points back at him and says, “Harry.”

“Mae'r blentyn seren yn ymddangos ychydig yn dwp.” Harry says, looking over at Gemma. “Nye-uhl. Hay-ree.”

He gestures correctly, and Niall can’t help but beam until it makes Harry growl and bare his own teeth and he realizes it might be considered a threat. He quickly schools his face back to neutrality and then points to the holograms and says, “Forest.”

“Foe-wrest.” Harry repeats, pointing at the trees.

Niall waves at the trees, then sweeps his arms towards the other two and repeats, “For you. Forest for you.”

“Foe-wrest, foor yooh.” Harry echoes, pointing to the trees then himself.

“Close enough.” Niall laughs. Honestly, it’s a lot farther than Niall hoped to get this early.

“Beth ydych chi'n ei alw'n blentyn seren?” Harry says, pointing to Gemma.

“Gemma.” Niall says, pointing at her.

Harry wrinkles his face up, but then says, “Jeh-muh.”

“Yes.” Niall hums, nodding.

“Yehs.” Harry imitates.

“You’re a curious little monkey, aren’t you?” Niall chuckles, looking down at Harry.

“Yuh- Yoor uh cyoo- cyoo-ree-uhs lee-tuhl mun-kee, ah- ahr-jew?” Harry repeats haltingly, his mouth having trouble working around the words.

“And a smartass.” Niall snorts.

“An duh suh-mahr-tass.” Harry says, wiggling excitedly.

“Up?” Niall asks, deciding to keep things simple and not risk confusing Harry. He points into the tree and then pulse-jumps himself up.

“Uhp.” Harry mimics, climbing to his feet and leaping onto the hologram next to Niall’s. He sits on the branch across from Niall and sits down in it. Gemma is up a moment later, climbing into the tree as easily as a squirrel and laying herself across Harry’s lap, keeping her eye on Niall.

“Hi.” Niall says gently, waving a hand at Harry.

“Hi.” Harry echoes, wiggling his fingers at Niall.

“Oi, Dances-With-Monkeys!” Louis yells into the communicator. “Get your perky, little arse back down here!”

“Why?” Niall sighs. “I’m making progress here.”

“I’ve been going over the data from your little sparring match, and there’s something you should see.” Louis answers. “Leave your English lessons for later. I promise this is more important.”

“One of these days, I’m going to tie you up and throw you in a ditch.” Niall mutters, dropping to the ground.

“Save the kinky stuff for the celebrations.” Louis laughs before the comm goes dead.

“Nye-uhl?” Harry asks, climbing down the tree. “Ble wyt ti'n mynd blentyn seren?”

“I have to go.” Niall tells him. “I’ll be back.”

“Bee bah-kuh.” Harry mumbles, tilting his head to the side.

“Soon.” Niall says gently.

“Sooh-nuh.” Harry says, that distinctive accent popping through. It’s kind of adorable.

“Soon.” Niall says softly, popping out the hood on his exo-suit so he can pass through the barrier without having to open it. He hears Harry grunt as he bounces off of it and sighs, opening up the panel on his wrist to put up an illusion of the forest on the inside of the unit so Harry and Gemma can’t see out.

 

“What am I looking at here?” Niall asks, watching the projections Louis is playing for him.

“How do you not see it?” Louis scoffs. “Turn on your damn eyes, Niall.”

“My eyes are on, Louis.” Niall grumbles. “Shut up with the little quips and tell me what I’m supposed to be seeing.”

“Do you remember that spot that I showed you before?” Louis asks wearily, pointing at the map of Gemma’s brain. “Watch it.”

The area lights up and dims in a series of flickers, and Niall nods.

“Now watch Harry’s just a moment later.” Louis tells him. Niall watches, but doesn’t see anything special, and it must show on his face because Louis groans. “Give me a second, you flat-foot.”

“I’m going to flatten you with my foot if you don’t take your attitude down several notches.” Niall growls at him.

“Even if we didn’t already know, I think it’s pretty obvious you two have done the dirty.” Luke snorts, leaning on his elbow and shooting them a smirk. “You fight like lovers.”

“Shut up.” Niall huffs, pressing his hand to Luke’s forehead and pushing him onto his ass.

“Well you are just rude.” Luke pouts, looking up at Niall from the floor.

“Where did your better thirds go?” Niall asks with a roll.

“They had some work to do so nobody gets suspicious.” Luke says with a shrug.

“Oi!” Louis scoffs, snapping his fingers in front of Niall’s face. “Pay attention, this time.”

“This had better be worth it. Harry barely understands anything I say, and he’s still better to talk to than you.” Niall says flatly.

“Just watch.” Louis says quietly. He plays the recording again, and what he was going for becomes immediately apparent.

“They’re the same.” Niall breathes out.

“I had to change the time on it by about a tenth of a second, but yes.” Louis nods.

“That’s crazy.” Niall says quietly. “What does this mean? Did- Did they have the same thought?”

“I had the same questions.” Louis hums, pulling up several other side-by-sides. “And if it had only happened once, then that question would have stayed unanswered.”

“Are you- Are you telling me they’re communicating?” Niall asks, feeling lightheaded.

“I’m giving a preliminary finding to support a hypothesis that there’s some sort of telepathic communication between them, yes.” Louis grins maniacally. “And you want to know what’s more interesting?”

“Why do you bother asking?” Niall sighs. “You’re such a dramatic-”

“It goes both ways.” Luke cuts in.

“Luke!” Louis hisses.

“I was getting bored.” Luke says with a shrug.

“Why is that more interesting?” Niall asks, stepping between them to put an end to the conversation.

“Because the only examples of telepathic communication that have ever been observed have been one way.” Louis explains with a huff. “Like hive-minds. Harry and Gemma both initiated communication. Gemma more than Harry, but that was mostly because you and Harry decided to tussle alone.”

“Did you record the fight?” Niall asks, nodding at the projections.

“I’ve recorded everything from the second we brought Gemma back.” Louis answers. 

“Can you play the fight footage side by side with the communications in real time?” Niall requests.

“Oh, that’s brilliant.” Louis grins.

Niall finds what he’s looking for quickly, and Louis’ grinning says that he sees it too.

“Every time I have an opening, Gemma initiates contact.” Niall says in a breathtaking moment of awe. “She’s telling him where to strike.”

“It’s advanced, not just basic.” Louis adds. “They can fully communicate without seeing each other or vocalizing.”

“Then why was he talking to her?” Luke asks.

“I believe I have a hypothesis about that.” Bressie pipes up from the station next to the one they’re gathered around.

“Go on then, big guy.” Niall chuckles.

“I believe he was insulting you.” Bressie says with a bright smile. “And he wanted you to know.”

“Wonderful.” Niall sighs, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’ve analyzed everything he said, and that seems the most obvious conclusion from a scientific standpoint.” Bressie tells him, his smile dropping a bit.

“No, I’m sure you’re right, actually.” Niall says quietly. “It does make sense.”

“I found something else.” Bressie tells him. “He repeated several words that I’ll need more context to begin translating, but he used one phrase multiple times while addressing you. Blentyn seren.”

“Any idea what that means?” Niall asks.

“None at all.” Bressie says with a shrug. “But that’s how he addresses you, and only you. Reviewing the footage, he never addressed Louis or Liam that way. It’s only you. To him, that’s who you are. Blentyn seren.”

“Blentyn seren.” Niall repeats, breathes out the words softly and rolls them around in his mouth. He can’t wait to find out what it means.

 

***

 

“Fucking hell.” Niall mutters under his breath, taking the seat next to Louis. “Why do we have to do this?”

“You know what they’re like.” Louis says with a roll of his eyes, lifting his legs up and setting them on the desk in front of them. “Besides, we need to play nice. Don’t need anything attracting attention to us.”

“I hate operatives.” Niall huffs, pouting petulantly. He knows he’s being a brat, but operatives have a long history of fucking shit up in his experience. They’re inconvenient and generally about as intelligent as a rock. All they care about is profits and resources. They’d rather plunder a planet than make it viable for sustaining human life.

“Then put on a smile and play friendly so we don’t have to spend any time with him.” Louis snorts. “If I can kiss his arse, so can you.”

“Irrelevant comparison. You wanted to kiss his arse before you found out he was an operative.” Niall hums.

“Well, I’m not a synth-shagger, so-” Luke hums. “I don’t have all the options you do.”

“Shut all the way up.” Niall huffs, glaring over at him.

“You’re the one that’s shacking up with him already.” Louis smirks. “If we hadn’t slept together, I might mistake you for a lesbian.”

“None of the pods in the synth barracks are big enough for him. Since he’s assigned to me, I have his custom pod in my flat. That’s all it is.” Niall says flatly.

“So you didn’t shag last night?” Louis asks with a knowing look in his eyes. “You two were all over each other while poring over the language data.”

“We were not.” Niall scoffs, locking his eyes on his knees.

“You didn’t answer the question.” Louis points out. “And that’s really all the answer I need. Well- That and the way you keep shifting in your seat because your arse is all sensitive.

“I actually, factually hate you.” Niall sighs. “Fine, yes, we shagged.”

“Then don’t judge me for wanting to shag one of the only other human males on this planet that’s a viable option for me.” Louis chuckles. “You’re a no, the lovebirds would be too much, even for me, and the geologist is a ginger. And a geologist.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Niall laughs, knocking his knee against Louis’. “You should try it with a synth. It’s, uh- It’s pretty damn phenomenal, honestly. Bressie- He vibrates, Louis. Vibrates.”

“He-” Is all Louis gets out before the door flies open and the operative stumbles through.

“Sorry- Sorry.” he mumbles out, contending with a large stack of papers in his arms. 

He trips forwards, and Niall’s instincts kick into gear. He catches the operative by the wrists, trapping them and the papers against his chest and stopping his descent.

“Sorry.” he says again, a light pink staining his cheeks. “Still getting used to this low gravity.”

“We’ve been here a week. Do it faster.” Niall says flatly, pushing the bloke back upright.

“Been in bed the whole time.” he sighs, shuffling around the desk and taking a seat. “That’s why I’m so late in getting these whole ‘meet the crew’ meetings out of the way.”

“Any lingering effects?” Louis asks, pressing his hand into the crook of Niall’s elbow in a way that looks gentle, but is actually a stinging reminder to reel himself in before he gets snappish.

“I’m nauseous all the time, but I’m mostly fine.” he says with a sheepish smile. “I’ve met Louis, but I don’t believe we had the pleasure, Niall. I’m Nick, and I’m sure you know by now that I’m the TEPEA Operative assigned to this mission.”

“Yeah, the office tipped me off.” Niall snorts. “The rest of us all have labs or something similar.”

“Yeah, I don’t really need that much space. I’m just here for oversight and resource allocation.” Nick says with a shrug. “My flat’s amazing, though. Much better than my one on Earth.”

“Why do you think we spend so much time off planet?” Louis hums.

“Anyways-” Niall cuts in before they can start up a conversation and keep him here any longer. “Is there anything specific you need from us?”

“That’s my question, actually.” Nick says with an amused grin, leaning back against his chair. “Now that we’ve been here for a bit, most other department heads have put in requisitions for things that weren’t in the initial launch. You two haven’t, though.”

“We’ve done this more than everyone on this mission.” Louis snorts. “We get what we want by now in the initial launch. It’s easier that way. No fuss for you. Our original requisition accounts look crazy but then we don’t need anything extra when we get here. Not for a while, anyways.”

“I generally don’t have to set up my office for a few months, and you’ll get my forms then.” Niall adds. “As far as the towers, Unit Eight-R-Three-Five-Five is in charge of requisitioning supplies for them. He has my full authority, because I’m busy working with Louis most of the time that we’re here.”

“I’ll make a note of that.” Nick nods. “Should I assume that it’s the same with your synth, Louis?”

“No.” Louis says flatly. “All he’d ever requisition is earth-form soil and nutria-grow. I put in my own forms.”

Niall wants to defend Liam, but- It’s happened before.

“Well then- The only thing left is to ask how your research is coming.” Nick hums, ticking away on his tablet. “Anything interesting so far?”

“We have a lot of data on the local plant-life, if you’d like to see it.” Louis offers, a faux-innocent smile on his face. “And bugs. Lots of bugs.”

“I’m, uh- I’m good.” Nick says, his nose wrinkling up.

“We did find a reptile that mainly subsists on eating its own waste until every nutrient has been absorbed.” Louis presses. “He’s actually quite fascinating, if you’d like to meet him.”

“My focus is really more on chemistry.” Nick says diplomatically. “I wouldn’t understand most of what you’d have to show me.”

“Your loss.” Louis chuckles, standing up out of his seat. “We’ll let you know if we need anything. My lab is always open, if you want to visit. Just let me know ahead of time. Sometimes we let the little critters out to play, and they get a little rowdy if you don’t know how to handle them.”

“And bring your exo-suit.” Niall chimes in, following Louis’ example. “The plants get a bit- Noxious.”

“I don’t think I’ll need to see too much.” Nick says with a polite smile. “If you guys find anything you want to show me, feel free to call me over, but- Like I said, it’s not really my area of expertise.”

“Chemists.” Louis laughs, opening up the door again. Niall hates that he can just put on the charm like that, because seeing Louis act human is so disorienting. “Oh well- You can’t have it all, right? Good looking men never study the good stuff.”

“Chemistry is more interesting than you’d think.” Nick says with a sly smirk. “I could give you a- Crash course.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Louis says with a wink, heading out. “Come along, man-servant. We have noxious grass to run tests on. I want to see if toxic to humans, so I need you.”

“Oh, Niall-” Nick says as Niall starts to follow Louis with a sigh. “Simon says ‘hello.’”

The words make Niall blood turn to ice in his veins and his head snap around too fast to be subtle.

“I was at headquarters the day before launch, and he saw you were on my mission, and wanted me to pass on his greeting.” Nick says amiably, a bright smile on his lips that makes Niall’s stomach heave. “I’m surprised someone like you knows the founder of TEPEA.”

“It was a very long time ago.” Niall mutters, turning away. “Thank you for delivering the message.”

“What took you so long?” Louis asks when Niall meets him out front, leaning against the wall with his trademarked bored expression finally back. Thank god.

“Nothing.” Niall mumbles, walking towards his flat. “I’m going to grab my exo-suit, and I’ll meet you at the lab.”

“Niall, what’s the matter?” Louis asks, following Niall despite the fact that the lab is in the opposite direction.

“I said it’s nothing, Louis.” Niall sighs. “Go back to the lab.”

“You know I’m just going to keep harassing you until you tell me.” Louis argues. “What happened?”

“Nothing happened.” Niall says quietly, opening the door to his flat. “I just- I really don’t trust him, Louis.”

“Well- Duh.” Louis scoffs. “Any particular reason?”

“He knows Simon.” Niall breathes out once they’re safely inside his flat. He has it checked constantly for monitoring devices, and his tablet reads back clear.

“Oh shit.” Louis gasps, eyes going wide. “Like- Like you knew Simon?”

“I have no idea, but- I think it’s best to make sure that we keep him at a distance.” Niall tells him.

“I am all the way on board with that.” Louis nods.

“We have to hide Harry and Gemma.” Niall adds. “Constant high-alert, Louis. You’ve had sweeps of the lab, right?”

“Of course. Who do you think I am?” Louis scoffs, smacking Niall’s arm.

“I need you to make sure that Liam is keeping an eye on it at all times. A dedicated process.” Niall tells him, shrugging his pack onto his back. “I have Bressie doing it, but it can’t hurt to have a backup.”

“I’ve got the place shielded, Niall.” Louis tells him. “Any unapproved nanites are immediately vaporized.”

“Good.” Niall says with a nod. “Let’s go. I told Harry that I’d be back soon, and it’s been a full day.”

 

“Where is he?” Niall asks, looking into the unit.

“He scrambled up into the trees as soon as you walked in.” Liam tells him, a puzzled look on his face. “He was doing a language lesson with Bressie, and then you opened the door, he saw you and then ran off.”

“He’s mad.” Niall sighs.

“That seems fairly possible.” Liam agrees with a nod. “When Bressie mentioned your name earlier, he went a bit-”

“Ape?” Niall finishes for him.

“That colloquialism fits.” Liam giggles.

“Bressie, keep the data monitoring up while I’m in there.” Niall orders, stepping up to the barrier and popping out his helmet. He can’t risk opening a section when he can’t see Gemma or Harry.

At least, he can’t until he steps in. No sooner is he inside the containment unit than there’s a flash of motion above him with a loud screech. 

Gemma streaks towards him, all fangs and fire and claws. She’s terrifying, slashing at Niall when she jumps off of the shield he throws up. She moves fast as lightning, stabbing at him with her tail and biting at his unshielded arm. It takes him a moment to catch onto what she’s doing, but he understands once he backs up into the base of the tree.

Still- He’s smarter than that.

He has to drop his shield to make both pulse gloves fire, but he manages to blast himself out of the way just in time to avoid Harry dropping out of the tree on top of where he was.

He crashes straight into Gemma and they collapse into a still pile. Niall worries for a moment that they’re actually hurt, but then they roll away from each other and Harry groans out, “Byddaf yn eich trechu chi yn y pen draw, blentyn seren.”

“Are you done?” Niall huffs, popping back his helmet.

“Ahr yoo duhn.” Harry mimics, squirming back and forth into a sitting position after untangling himself from Gemma and wiggling his fingers. “Nye-uhl. Hi, Nye-uhl.”

“Hi, Harry.” Niall chuckles, waving back at him. “Hi, Gemma.”

“Mae'r blentyn seren yn siarad â chi.” Harry says quickly, looking over at Gemma. “Ni all hi siarad yn ôl plentyn seren. Mae ei meddwl yn dweud eich bod yn arogli ac y byddai hi'n hoffi bwyta'ch wyneb. Rwy'n anghytuno â hi. Ni chredaf fod eich wyneb yn ymddangos yn flasus.”

“Chatty today.” Niall hums.

“Chuh-ah-tee too-dae.” Harry echoes. “Chuh-ah-tee.”

“I brought you something.” Niall tells him, pulling a packet out of a pouch on his side.

“I bra-choo sum-fink.” Harry says, climbing to his feet.

Niall opens the packet up and drops it to the ground, letting the nanites construct his present from the powdered fibers in the package. In seconds, a pile of dust turns into a blanket. Niall picks it up and wraps it around himself to show Harry how it’s done. 

Then he hands it over and says, “For you. For Harry.”

“Foor Hay-ree?” Harry asks, wrapping it around his shoulders like Niall had done.

“For Harry.” Niall repeats with a nod.

“Foor Jeh-muh?” Harry questions.

“For Gemma.” Niall chuckles, pouring out another packet and handing it to Harry. He’s not quite ready to approach Gemma on his own yet.

“Foor Jeh-Muh.” Harry says proudly, placing it over her head. Gemma immediately shakes it off and jumps back, growling at the blanket, and Harry huffs out. “Nid yw'n drap. Na, nid yw'n hud. Peidiwch â bod fel hynny.”

Whatever he says to her either goes very well, or very poorly, depending on his intention. Whatever Harry told her, she ends up shooting a jet of flame at the blanket and turning it into a bonfire.

“Jesus Christ.” Niall mutters, pointing his hand at the burning pile and unleashing a focused pulse-blast that puts it out.

“Jee-zuss cry-sst.” Harry says quietly, curling his blanket tighter around himself. “Mae'n ddrwg gennyf am ei blentyn seren ymddygiad.”

“I don’t think she likes you as much as he does.” Louis chuckles into the comm.

“Females. Always harder to please.” Niall snorts. “No matter the species.”

“Spee-sees?” Harry asks, cocking his head to the side.

“I have to focus on Harry. Leave me alone for a while unless it’s important.” Niall says, clicking his comm to shut off Louis’ voice.

“Hay-ree.” Harry says, preening and smoothing back the fur around his face.

“You like attention don’t you.” Niall hums, observing the way Harry keeps scooting closer.

“Hi, Nye-uhl.” Harry says wiggling his fingers at Niall from where they’re peeking out from under the blanket.

“Hi, Harry.” Niall snorts. 

It may be all they can say to each other, really, but it shows that he wants to communicate with Niall. Despite the difficulty of their circumstances, Harry wants to talk to Niall, and he’s trying. Maybe, just maybe, this is really going to be what Niall has hoped for since before he applied to TEPEA.

Maybe he’ll change the world on his own merits.


End file.
